Put Down the Pedialyte. Here’s 7 Healthy Alternatives.

Pedialyte and Gatorade are two of my pet peeves. The purpose of both of these drinks is to replenish electrolytes in the body. First off, does everyone know what electrolytes are and why we need them? The word electrolyte has become a term thrown around a lot in marketing but most people are unclear on what they actually are. In the human body, electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium, chloride, hydrogen phosphate, and hydrogen carbonate, or in other words they are minerals.

Minerals are very important for good health. Yes pedialyte and gatorade both contain (synthetic) “electrolytes” but they come along with a handful of unnecessary artificial ingredients, sweeteners, and colors – none of which are going to help you or your child recover from an illness, and could even cause other problems.

Unfortunately, pedialyte is the go-to product recommended by pediatricians for children who have a stomach virus or an illness that causes repeated vomiting to replenish lost minerals. The real truth is that it's possibly the worst option and there are far better choices that can be made easily with ingredients you likely already have at home.

After water you'll see dextrose, a sweetener that is likely GMO, then you'll see the minerals, followed by natural flavor…

I have to stop and talk about natural flavor for a moment. Natural flavor seems pretty harmless when you read it but don't be fooled, it's not. Natural flavor can be a derivative of anything that was once part of a “natural” ingredient. It's the food companies way of throwing things in there without having to put them on the label. If you have ANY type of food allergy or sensitivity, avoid natural flavors, because you'll never know exactly what it contains.

After natural flavors you'll see sucralose which is Splenda, a toxic artificial sweetener, and lastly you'll see red 40 and blue 1, artificial colors that have been linked to behavioral problems in children. Yikes. Now you can see why this product bothers me.

All of the minerals in pedialyte and gatorade can be found in foods and there are plenty of ways to get them in without using these artificial products.

I've pulled together a list of healthy, natural, drinks that can be made easily at home to use as an electrolyte replacement drink. These are all great for illness recovery and also as a sports drink. They will help to re-hydrate the body in a pure and healthy way without any added artificial ingredients. Side note, if you are interested in learning more about helping your child feel better naturally, don't forget about my online course on natural remedies.

Here are some delicious and healthy recipes you can make at home:

I love this recipe, I've made this on several occasions when my children were sick. I love that it also has lemon and honey which are super healing for any illness. Also, this one is another spin on this recipe that doesn't have the ginger, my kids are sensitive to the taste of ginger so I usually have to use it very sparingly.

I love the idea of this one (have not tried it yet myself) because I love the product CALM and I use it daily myself. It's a great idea to incorporate some of this into a drink made to replenish minerals – whether for illness or for sports.

Table salt ingredients: Salt, calcium silicate, dextrose, potassium iodide. It has been stripped of the good minerals and had chemicals and dextrose- ie; corn (& yes, iodide) added. I’m allergic to corn as are many other people nowadays because they’ve added GMO glyphosate corn to everything. Sea salt is still real. Our body needs real.

I currently use pedilyte because I need foods/drinks with high sodium. I need to take two packetst while in the gym to maintain proper hydration. Each pack cost apprx $1.50 — $3.00 for 2. This is $90 or 5x my gym membership ($18 a month).
What are the best options? I’m am very frustrated with the cost.
Thanks, Bill.

Dissolve sea salt and a sugar (sucrose or dextrose) of your choice in water. I think WHO recommendation is 1/2 tsp salt and 6 tsp table sugar (sucrose) for home made oral re hydration solution. I use to use drip-drop rehydration in the gym myself, but it got quite expensive.

These are some awesome alternatives. I personally have never liked Gatorade and products like it, but I need something with electrolytes after a workout. These look tasty and are probably a lot more natural and better for you!

The ingredients in Pedialyte are formulated to be identical to normal saline, the same you’d get in the hospital to treat dehydration.

There is a lot of fear mongering in this article. The bit about “GMO dextrose” is balogna because dextrose is a single molecule, not a food possessing altered proteins or genetic material.

Dextrose aids in the uptake of electrolytes, and is used to create an isotonic solution (a solution with the same concentration of electrolytes as normal bodily fluids).

I’m all for alternatives to rehydration, and a lot of what this article says is excellent. Demonizing Pedialyte is not appropriate because of all readily available electrolyte drinks, Pedialyte is the best compared to Powerade/Gatorade.